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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Salads Good/Bad

Another gem from my newsletter:

The perfect salad, with just the right combination of nutritious vegetables and filling protein, can be one of the healthiest meals you can eat. The imperfect salad, on the other hand, can be a diet disaster. While some toppings just aren't as good as their healthier counterparts, others can tack on hundreds of extra calories and unnecessary grams of sugar and fat, transforming your meal from power lunch to flab trap. That's exactly why Eat This, Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide has developed this Salad Bar Survival Guide--read it, learn it, and know for sure that when you choose to eat healthy, you're doing it right.

Salad Base

Show Restraint!

Iceberg lettuceWhile not bad for you, it's the least healthy of common salad bar lettuces. Its high water content makes for a low nutrient density. If you can't skip it, mix it in with darker, healthier greens.

Eat These Instead!

SpinachPick darker greens for the base. Spinach, on the greenest side of the spectrum, is bursting with vitamins and nutrients, like folate, which helps ward off mental decline, and beta-carotene, which helps protect your skin and eyes.

Mixed GreensThe diversity of leaves assures you a bowl filled with a wide variety of nutrients and active compounds. The delicate nature of these little lettuces, though, means they don't hold us as well to heavy ingredients and dressings.

RomaineCompared with iceberg, romaine contains 3 times more folate, 6 times more vitamin C, and 8 times the beta-carotene. Makes a good, sturdy bed for more substantial salads.

Vegetable Toppings

Show Restraint!CornThere are too many nutritionally superior vegetables at the salad bar to invest the calories on corn. Corn isn't a definite no, but if you choose to use, make it a sparing amount.

Green peppersThey're not bad for you per se, but they only have half the vitamin C as their red and yellow counterparts. If the other versions are available, what's the point of going green?

Alfalfa SproutsThese feathery salad additions have a cache of vitamins unrivaled by nearly anything else you can put in your body. Get in the habit of topping off your salad with these.

TomatoesThrow some on for lycopene, which has been linked to reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. Tomatoes also provide vitamins A, C, and K.

CarrotsYou'll love them for their sweet crunch and their vision-boosting beta-carotene.

ProteinShow Restraint!BaconBacon's gotten some bad press over the years, but one strip has only 40 calories and less than 200 milligrams of sodium. So a pinch of bacon bits is permissible; a handful, however, is not.

Hard-Boiled EggsEggs aren't bad for you, but there are better, healthier, less caloric alternatives. Then again, if you're sick of chicken and it means the difference between eating a salad or opting for take-out, you can mix an egg with chickpeas, avocado and red peppers for the closest thing to salad perfection. Just don't overdo it.

AvocadoAvocados provide a ton of heart-healthy fats and a rich, creamy bite to any salad. But just because monounsaturated fats are good for your heart doesn't mean they won't still make you fat. Try to choose between avocados and nuts.

WalnutsYes, they are absolutely jacked with omega-3s and antioxidants, but they're incredibly dense with calories. Keep it down to a tablespoon or two.

Eat These Instead!

ChickenLean protein is the key to making filling salads, and none come much leaner than chicken. If you're banking on the bird, thought, remember that a healthy portion is the size of a deck of cards.

ChickpeasLike all legumes, chickpeas bring to the table both protein and fiber, the sultans of satiety. Add to that a healthy dose of antioxidants and you have the makings of a salad-topping superstar.

TunaTuna fish on a salad, as opposed to tuna salad swimming in mayonnaise, will provide protein and heart-helping omega-3 fats without the heavy caloric price.

Dressing

Not These!Ranch/Blue Cheese/CaesarThe type of dressing you use is the single most important decision you make at the salad bar. These three represent the most destructive dressings, clocking in around 150 calories and 15 grams of fat per serving.

French/Catalina/Thousand IslandThe trio of orange dressings are only marginally less problematic than their white counterparts. That's because they're based on low-grade oils and excess sugar. Expect at least 150 calories for 2 tablespoons of one of these.

Show Restraint with THESE Iinstead...Oil and VinegarYour best bet, since you control the ratio. Slick your salad with equal parts oil and vinegar, but be sure to add only enough to lightly coat the greens.

VinaigrettesAssuming the vinaigrette is based on olive oil, you'll be getting a big dose of monounsaturated fats. Even so, since most vinaigrettes abide by the three parts oil to one part vinegar ratio, you're still looking at 100 calories per serving.

Cheese Topping

Not That!Shredded CheddarThe worst cheese at the salad bar. Not only is it high in calories and sodium, but the minuscule shreds tend to bury themselves in the bowl, making portion control a challenge.

Show Restraint with THESE Instead!Feta CheeseA smarter pick than blue cheese, being that feta provides that same crumbly bite for fewer calories and less sodium. Still, only in moderation and only with a colorful crew of vegetables to back it up.

Blue CheeseDelicious blue cheese comes at a caloric price. If you absolutely must have it, limit yourself to just one meat or other protein and load up on low-call veggies.

When a restaurant exchanges the salad bowls with a deep-fried tortilla trough, you know something’s amiss. With as much saturated fat as 40 strips of bacon (two days’ worth) and more calories than 11 Taco Bell Fresco Beef Tacos.

Steer clear of Mexican-themed salads; they invariably suffer from the caloric impact of fried tortillas, shredded cheese, and ice-cream-size scoops of sour cream. This particular Mex mess has nearly two days' worth of saturated fat and more than an entire day’s sodium.

The top three words you never want to see sharing a space with “salad” on a menu: tuna, taco, and yes, the mighty Caesar. Consider that tangle of romaine a hapless vehicle for the troubling trinity of croutons, parmesan cheese, and viscous Caesar dressing. Chili’s version is the worst; the elephantine portion yields a salad with more fat than a dozen Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches from Breyers. (Maybe Brutus was right to take a knife to him, after all.)

Chicken, mixed greens, walnuts, raspberry vinaigrette: Sounds like good eating, right? Too bad the walnuts are candied, the dressing alone has 14 grams of fat, and the leaves are strewn with salty hunks of Gorgonzola cheese. Want a survival plan? Ask for a half salad and politely decline the free bagel.

Macaroni Grill manages to take two normally healthy foods — salad and seafood — and turn them into the caloric equivalent of 29 Chicken McNuggets. Not to mention more than one day’s worth of sodium, fat, and saturated fat. There’s an important lesson here: Sea creatures, just like leafy greens, are at grave risk when they fall into the hands of the restaurant industry.

Surprised to see a Quizno’s salad with nearly as many calories as five packages of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? Don’t be. Half the salads on the menu top 1,000 calories, and 330 of those calories come from the flatbread alone.

Turns out Friday’s monster salads aren’t much better than their burgers. Six out of the seven we analyzed topped out with more than 900 calories, which means that lunchtime can be the start of something big — namely, your belly.

Salad Hall of FameNow that you’ve been warned of the greenest nutrition follies in the nation, here are seven salads worthy of their healthy reputation.

Wow! Who knew all of those useful facts? Of the good salads listed, we only have a McD's in our area. I guess this means my salad will be made at home - I can't believe that I've never thought to add chickpeas before!

My Other Blogs

Kim

This blog is a look at life through my eyes: a woman trying to lose weight (weight loss surgery and no Trim Healthy Mama), MoyaMoya survivor (2 brain surgeries in summer 2014), infertility survivor, adoptive mother, homeschooler, Christian, and a woman on an amazing spiritual journey. Our incredible journey of faith led us to the adoption of our son in April '10... but also to a miracle pregnancy!

John

My partner in crime... and partner in life. A wonderful husband, provider, support system, and father. Loves Texas A&M football (okay, all sports), The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band, fishing, gardening, cooking, and hanging out with his family.

James

Our son born in April '10, loves getting into everything - climbing - running - and has a great time doing it! James is always on the go and loves to be outside!

Tyler

Our son born in October '10... is also into everything! Tyler loves reading as much as climbing, and would sit most days and read with you all day long. He also loves to snuggle.

Allie

This lazy girl joined our family in 2012. She was an anniversary present for me, when John found her and adopted her. She is extremely patient with the boys, and we get a lot of joy & laughter at her expense.

Dixie

This wild child joined our family in 2013 after losing our Boston Terrier, Missy, at 15 years old. She was a stubborn ball of energy at first, but now she just lays around and snores.